Comments

Dcronlg

Margaret -- you're a smart business women so you know about costs & economics.

Please do this simple back-of-envelope calculations for the true cost of educating a child: Take a teacher's avg salary, divide it by the total hrs they work per year (be sure to include work athome/weekends like grading papers, etc). You shld get a figure like $36 - $40/hr. Sounds like a lot, right?

Now divide that number by the avg class room size: the total cost to educate a child is about $1.15 - $1.30/hr. That's correct, Margaret -- we pay our babysitter more per hour per kid than we pay teachers. Add to your calculations education costs, a 4 yr degree & a Masters - about $60K - $80K...,just to make $1.30/hr per kid.

Last thing: Local property taxes are approx 25%- 35% of a school budget. So, the actual local cost per kid-hr: 50 cents a hr. -- in today's economy.

Truthteller

These are worthwhile comments, Mrs. Valone. And apt food for thought. I would only add that teachers have stepped up to the plate all over the country, including this area. I've seen several news articles this past year about local districts whose unions have accepted pay freezes. That should satisfy anyone who questions their intentions. Certainly, Wisconsin teachers have made even bigger sacrifices. Now maybe the communities and politicians should re-think the misguided testing and teacher evaluation systems that are ruining education and making it harder to teach kids. Not to mention that children, including kindergarten students, should not have a say in whether a teacher keeps his or her job. Preposterous? Not in Syracuse, where one component of a teacher's evaluation is student comments, whether they are primary students or secondary.

Truthteller

I also must add that "greed" has an income threshold. I'm not sure what that is, but I would say anyone making $40,000 a year or less is going to struggle today. And probably $80,000 is do-able, but certainly not greedy. I would reserve greed for the Exxon Mobils of the world and the bankers, who have acted as vampires and are enjoying the vast fruits of a modern system that rewards themselves when they borrow your money and still rewards themselves when you borrow theirs. Remember the 8% savings account? You can't even get a CD for that now.

joew

Steiner

dc is apologizing for the teachers union. Dc thinks we cannot live without the govt. There is no mention of choice in our schools , just those teachers unions. Dc , you gotta do better than that. we have to get the state and the teachers union busted and or out of the education business. the oil and gas industry does more for life than the state ever did. I would not contribute anything to a fund for education. we have the net, libraries and more and you still want money ? whats wrong with your thinking on this ? that dc, always bowing down before the govt and its employees. Its private enterprise footing the bill, dc. You do understand that right ?

Steiner

hey truth teller, in your wisdom, what has the govt done for its citizens equal to oil and gas, electricity, electronics ? maybe you and dc can give us your analysis. I know you think life is impossible without govt. Its the other way around . Life is not possible without private enterprise. Dc and the libs just cant bring themselves to say it.